Nigerian Equities Market Slumps N1.17 Trillion on Monday

Equities Market Opens Week Lower, N1.173 Trillion Lost in Capitalisation The Nigerian equities market opened the week on a negative note on Monday, losing N1.173 trillion or a 1.26 per cent decline. The downturn was largely driven by profit-taking in major stocks, including Dangote Cement, Enamelware, Transcorp Power, AIICO Insurance, and Guinea Insurance. Market capitalisation closed at N92.328 trillion, down from the opening value of N93.501 trillion. The All-Share Index (ASI) dipped by 1,853.82 points, or 0.26 per cent, ending at 145,159.77 compared with 147,013.59 on Friday. Despite the overall decline, market breadth remained positive, with 28 stocks gaining against 24 losers. Top Gainers: Top Losers: Trading Activity:Total turnover for the day stood at 388.2 million shares worth N31.14 billion, traded in 28,492 deals. This was lower than Friday’s volume of 4.89 billion shares valued at N42.2 billion across 24,152 transactions. Notable Trades:

Privatization: FG gives Transcorp Power discharge certificate

Transcorp Power Limited has received the Discharge Certificate from the Federal Government in Abuja. Nigerian Anchor reports that Transcorp Power Limited, a leading power generation company, located in Ughelli Delta State, is the first power generation company to fulfil all privatisation obligations. Transcorp Power Limited, with an installed capacity of 972 megawatts, was presented with a post-privatisation discharge certificate by the Federal Government, following fulfilment of all privatisation conditions. This development means that Transcorp Power will no longer be subjected to post-privatisation monitoring, and it is the first privatised power generation company to achieve this milestone since the power sector privatisation commenced in 2013. One of the key targets set for Transcorp is a minimum available capacity of 670 megawatts. The Discharge Certificate was presented at the meeting of the National Council of Privatisation (NCP) by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to Mr. Tony Elumelu, Group Chairman, Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp), owner of Transcorp Power. Osinbaho, who also doubles as the Chairman of NCP, commented on the ceremony. “Post privatisation monitoring is an important aspect of the Federal Government’s privatisation programme. “Transcorp Power has been able to ensure compliance and meet the expectations of post privatisation deliverables. “I commend Tony Elumelu and his Transcorp team for this feat. I urge Transcorp Group to continue in that path and even do better. This being the first, should not be the last post privatisation discharge event,” he said. Elumelu thanked the Federal Government for their trust and confidence in Transcorp. “In addition to fulfilling the post privatisation performance criteria, Transcorp has driven a strong indigenous agenda – our plants are managed and fully operated by Nigerians, creating jobs and reducing unemployment in the country. “Safety is very important to us as well, since we began operations in 2013, we have recorded zero incidents till date. Speaking at the Event, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Okoh, congratulated the Board and Management of Transcorp for the milestones achieved in turning around the enterprise. He noted that Transcorp had met and exceeded the performance targets and all other covenanted obligations agreed during the signing of the privatisation agreement in 2013. “Transcorp Power increased the generation capacity of the plant by 227 per cent from the operational status as at handover in 2013. “Capital expenditure totalling N58.612 billion was covenanted for phase1, phase 2 as ‘additional investment’ but the actual investment made by Transcorp was the sum of N83.85bn, leading up to a score of 143 per cent,” he said. Transnational Corporation Plc acquired Ughelli Power Plc (now Transcorp Power Limited) from the Federal Government of Nigeria on November 1, 2013 when the power sector was privatised. At the time of acquisition, the plant had an available capacity of 160 megawatts. Transcorp invested and increased the available capacity to 680.83 megawatts (being a 227 per cent increase) within four years of takeover, surpassing the five-year target of 670 megawatts set by the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE).